Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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187. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she remains satisfied that all issues arising from the 2020 leaving certificate have been fully addressed and resolved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30569/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations this year. The system of Calculated Grades is a complex and sophisticated system. It had to be developed from scratch, specifically for the Irish Leaving Certificate, and within an extremely tight timeframe in order for students to get their Calculated Grades results in time.

On 3 October, I announced that 6,100 Leaving Certificate students would later that day receive details of improved calculated grades, following the correction of errors found in the coding used as part of the Calculated Grades process. As part of the Round 4 offers made by the CAO on 8 October, 485 of these students received a CAO offer as a result of their improved grades. Each of these students will have the opportunity to take up their offers in the current academic year.

I also announced on 3 October that I had asked that an independent review of the design and implementation of the Calculated Grades process should take place when the process is complete. The full scope of the review will be clearly set out in advance.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to make changes in respect of the 2021 leaving certificate having regard to the 2020 experience; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30570/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is acutely aware of the disruption caused to students as a result of school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and which led the decision not to run the state examinations this summer.

In the context of the return to schools of students for the 2020/21 school year my Department published a range of documentation and support material as part of the Roadmap for the Full Return to School, which is available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool. This includes guidelines on the adjusted assessment arrangements for state examinations in summer 2021. The Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021 are available at the following link:

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As schools have significant autonomy in determining how to sequence and pace learning for students in their schools, no centrally prescribed adjustment of the curriculum and courses of study have been made for students taking the certificate examinations in 2021. Consequently, the most appropriate way to reflect and take account of the challenges for students that have occurred in 2019/20, and may occur in 2020/21, was to incorporate adjustments to the certificate examinations in 2021.

These adjustments have been arrived at through discussions between my Department, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and key stakeholders. The key stakeholders that were consulted in relation to the document included unions representing teachers, and school management bodies.